Keratine Squad
Keratine Squad was the personal Squad of Marshal Commander CC-2075 "Drax". History Keratine Squad consisted of 1 volunteer and 5 clone troopers, each of whom had shown combat prowess during the 111th's previous engagements across the galaxy. 2nd Lieutenant Anderson Crets was the squad officer, and maintained more direct control over the squad than Drax. Despite having been sent on several training exercises together to become accustomed to working together, there was still tension in the squad, particularly between Crets and Harker. Harker saw Crets as being an inferior leader, based on the fact that he was a volunteer, and questioned or criticized Crets' decisions every chance he got. Notable Members CC-2075 Drax: CC-2075, nicknamed "Drax", was a clone commander in the 111th Heavy Brigade during the Clone Wars. After leaving the 28th Devastation Squad, Drax went on to create Keratine Squad. 2nd LT. Anderson Crets: Anderson Crets was a volunteer trooper who was appointed as Keratine Squad's main officer, under Drax. Although he was a talented soldier, he struggled with confidence issues, and the fear of disappointing his superiors. Cpl. "Harker" Harker was the most vocal member of Keratine Squad. Although he didn't have an issue with volunteers in general, he had a particular distaste for Crets, and what he perceived to be a lack of qualification to lead the rest of the squad, due to Crets' self doubt. Pvt. "Melshone" Melshone preferred to stay out of the way of the other members of the squad, keeping to himself as much as possible. He never had the chance to attempt to form any real friendships with the rest of the group, as he was killed during the squad's first real mission, by the sith Darth Aramanus. Pvt. "Deacon" Deacon was far from the traditional 111th trooper. He preferred a planned out and strategic approach to conflict, spending most of his free time studying war tactics and strategies. Pvt. "Eereen" Eereen attempted to serve as a sort of middle ground between Crets and Harker. Although he preferred Harker's boldness, he understood the necessity for Crets to not be constantly questioned and criticized by those in his squad. During their training missions, he attempted to help Crets and Harker find some sort of similarities between them, to try and ease the tension, but was unsuccessful. During the first battle of Geonosis, Eereen was saved by a member of the Jedi Order, and has felt compelled to respect and show loyalty to them ever since. Pvt. "Snap" Snap was the squad's best marksman. Although he had limited training with a sniper rifle before joining the squad, he did his best to become acclimated with the weapon quickly, as well as the pair of blaster pistols that he began to use as well. The Klefar Strike After the 111th's assault on the Odysseus, recovered intel indicated that one of the unfrozen sith had established an outpost on the planet Klefar, which appeared to be relatively unguarded. Keratine Squad, along with captain Brew lieutenant Locket, were sent to apprehend the sith, so that they could acquire further knowledge from him. Although the plan they devised seemed solid at first, it quickly fell apart as the sith, Darth Aramanus, sensed their arrival. The group came under fire as the sith troopers guarding the exterior were alerted to their presence by the death of one of their own, who had begun to walk into the jungle. After retreating deeper into the jungle to escape from any pursuers, the 111th regrouped, and put their plan back into action, which involved Locket, Snap, and Eereen keeping hostile snipers occupied, Melshone entering the ventilation system and placing detonators in Aramanus' personal quarters, while Brew and the rest of Keratine Squad entered the outpost through the main door. Although they were immediately greeted by a force push from Aramanus, sending the troopers back outside, Brew, Crets, Deacon, and Harker quickly recovered, moving back inside. Although they surrendered to stall time, Aramanus' foresight had alerted him to Melshone's presence as well, and the group had to improvise. With Aramanus wanting to know exactly how much the 111th knew about him and his operations, Brew convinced the sith to take him up to the command center so he could contact Drax via holotable. Using hand signals they had been taught on Kamino, Brew told Drax to simply lie to the sith about what they knew and what they didn't. Appearing satisfied, Aramanus turned off the holotable, and immediately began moving to have the captured Republic troops moved to his flagship, the Galara. As they made their way outside, however, the sith forces were ambushed by Melshone, who had made his way back out of the vent system after placing the detonators. The ensuing chaos gave Brew and the captured Keratine Squad members time to escape from their captors and retreat to their shuttle for extraction, at the cost of Melshone's life.